WTF: Cats privacy claws, down you come, ship happens

It’s no secret that the Cats’ spin doctors like to control the message, but this one surely borders on the absurd.

WTF: 07/03/25

They’re the little – and sometimes not so little – things that can really irk us. We’ve asked the people of Geelong to point out the problems that irritate and exasperate and have us all saying, woah, that’s frustrating!

CATS PRIVACY CLAWS

Cats players and their little ones. Picture: Instagram / Patrick Dangerfield.

It’s no secret that the Cats’ spin doctors like to control the message, but this one surely borders on the absurd.

A February 19 photo shoot ahead of the season opener included a cute pic of some players and their offspring.

The photo was posted to the Instagram account of Kirsten Stanley, the wife of Rhys, on February 22.

The post was liked almost 800 times, including by Jeremy Cameron’s better half, Indiana Putra.

Kirsten Stanley posted this photo on Instagram on February 22.

Almost a week later, Cats skipper Patrick Dangerfield posted the same photo to his 219,000 followers, drawing a positive response from the likes of Ms Stanley, Demi Duncan and Bailey Smith.

It was at this point the spin doctors, gatekeepers, whatever you want to call them, were asked if we at the Addy could attain a high-res version and credit the photographer.

The response left us gobsmacked: “The club haven’t received approval from all families to be able to pass this image on externally.”

DOWN YOU COME

The wire fencing surrounding the site of the former timber deck in Little Malop St has been ripped down

The seeming quest to make the Market Square end of Little Malop St as inhospitable as possible shows no sign of slowing down.

Not content that a timber deck, installed to host local musicians in a bid to ward off anti-social behaviour, had to be removed recently due to damage, the wire fencing surrounding the site has now been ripped down not once, but twice.

The wire fencing surrounding the site of the former timber deck in Little Malop St has been ripped down.

Capturing the attention of WTF was a bright coloured balloon discarded at the site that we’re reliably told would’ve been used to inhale nitrous oxide for a cheap hit.

Also catching the eye along the glittering strip is a string of brand new graffiti pieces on the boarded up shops near Moorabool St which make last week’s ‘Pam the Bird’ rip off look like a Basquiat.

Combine that with the seemingly ever present “mall rats” blessing the lush astroturf with their presence, and you’ve got yourself a pretty great place to actively avoid.

GONE FISHIN’

Ah, nothing like a bit of hull on bitumen.

An avid fisherman in Norlane made the brave decision earlier this week to moor his vessel to Melbourne Rd.

It was an interesting choice, so too was the decision to launch the boat from the back of a moving automobile.

A boat fell off a trailer on the Princes Highway. Picture: Facebook

According to those on the ground, the unfortunate sequence of events occurred after the winch on the trailer carrying the boat snapped.

People power assisted in retrieving the boat from its dry grave, a group of four reloading the boat back onto the trailer with minimal damage caused by the ordeal.

Oh well, ship happens.

PICTORIAL PUNCTURE PROBLEMS

Geelong Advertiser photographer Alison Wynd has been having puncture problems.

Addy photographer Alison Wynd was muttering WTF multiple times last week after copping a trifecta of tyre terror in the space of just 10 days.

“What are the odds getting three punctures in so close together?” Wynd said, following weeks of hard work collating images for the Addy’s hugely popular annual My First Year series.

The first puncture was detected after an almost perfect parallel park in Little Myers St.

Upon stepping out to admire her good work, the hissing was so loud she had to pop the bonnet to see if she’d blown a gasket.

Perhaps it was divine intervention, because getting a puncture beside St Mary’s Cathedral means that the good folk at Jax Tyres are only 180m away.

Just two days later, Wynd’s dreaded puncture alarm started blaring just blocks after leaving home.

After a quick stop at 7 Eleven for air, it was back to Jax for another puncture repair.

Then just one week later, driving through the Surfcoast Highway-Marshalltown Rd intersection, the terrorised ‘tog almost ducked for cover after hearing a gun shot.

Sadly there was no big scoop for the news hound, just another dreaded puncture (see the photo above).

Maybe it might be best for the shop to just show our beloved snapper how to fix a tyre herself, or at least implement some sort of rewards system for their new No. 1 customer.

THE FREE STATE OF LORNE

The Surf Coast Shire meeting took an odd turn last week.

Bipartisan laughter cut through a tense Surf Coast Shire meeting last week, as the council was hit with a string of bizarre questions.

While the shire’s controversial Australia Day motion and the dramatic way it played out may have caused the headlines, questions regarding Lorne’s potential secession from the Surf Coast Shire union certainly provided some much needed comedic relief for some in the room.

The odd line of questioning, from absent Matthew Vincent, began with a reasonable query “requesting information about how much money council spends in Lorne”.

This was followed up with the outrageous, “requesting information around the process for Lorne to become a separate municipality”.

Met with subdued laughter across the board, chief executive Robyn Seymour remained admirably straight faced in her reply outlining the steps to such a secession.

“It’s more a topic for the minister for local government, as this is not something we at council would be involved in,” Ms Seymour said.

“But if you want some advice around how to pursue that through the local government minister, then perhaps get in touch with council and we can give you some advice around how you might explore that opportunity.”

The free state of Lorne remains a dream … for now.

If that wasn’t enough, the next question from an also absent Dean Hurlstone was another doozy.

“How much (does council) spend each council meeting on meals and refreshments for council staff?”

For those playing at home, the number is $150.

Originally published as WTF: Cats privacy claws, down you come, ship happens